Howdy Folks,
A while back I snagged this ugly as hell Model 36 no dash from a pawn shop on the rough side of San Antone for $158 OTD. Figured the ugly duckling would be worth a gamble. It was pretty obvious the gun was refinished and some previous owner did a little high class custom wood work on the original stocks by adding finger grooves and coarse checkering. I discovered while cleaning and diagnosing that the finish was actually paint! Wiped right off with Hoppes or alcohol. I had to buy $30 of replacement screws and a couple minor internal parts. Mechanically, she's pretty sound with excellent timing and a great trigger. The hammer spur was broken off and pretty jagged but a few passes with a file made it good enough for government work. I slapped a BK grip adapter on it and put it through a few boxes of ammo and drills. This ugly ducking turned out to be my best shooting J Frame. It rides in my pocket pretty often and the black paint finish is starting to wear from use.
During a trip to East Texas I stopped by a small gun shop and dug around the odds and ends. $35 got me an Uncle Mike's boot grip (now rides on the ugly Model 36) and these wood finger groove grips. They were inside a Herrett's Shooting Stars box but I am skeptical they are Herrett's- have not found much reference to a similar model in my research. They fit my hand pretty well and my Model 38 perfectly, but they don't quite fit the ugly Model 36 that well.
Who do you fine folks think made these finger grooves? Any suggestions for a cheap finish for the ugly gun when the paint is all worn off?
A while back I snagged this ugly as hell Model 36 no dash from a pawn shop on the rough side of San Antone for $158 OTD. Figured the ugly duckling would be worth a gamble. It was pretty obvious the gun was refinished and some previous owner did a little high class custom wood work on the original stocks by adding finger grooves and coarse checkering. I discovered while cleaning and diagnosing that the finish was actually paint! Wiped right off with Hoppes or alcohol. I had to buy $30 of replacement screws and a couple minor internal parts. Mechanically, she's pretty sound with excellent timing and a great trigger. The hammer spur was broken off and pretty jagged but a few passes with a file made it good enough for government work. I slapped a BK grip adapter on it and put it through a few boxes of ammo and drills. This ugly ducking turned out to be my best shooting J Frame. It rides in my pocket pretty often and the black paint finish is starting to wear from use.
During a trip to East Texas I stopped by a small gun shop and dug around the odds and ends. $35 got me an Uncle Mike's boot grip (now rides on the ugly Model 36) and these wood finger groove grips. They were inside a Herrett's Shooting Stars box but I am skeptical they are Herrett's- have not found much reference to a similar model in my research. They fit my hand pretty well and my Model 38 perfectly, but they don't quite fit the ugly Model 36 that well.
Who do you fine folks think made these finger grooves? Any suggestions for a cheap finish for the ugly gun when the paint is all worn off?
